Bhagavad Gita 6.26 · Yato Yato Nishcharatiयतो यतो निश्चरति मनश्चञ्चलमस्थिरम्।ततस्ततो नियम्यैतदात्मन्येव वशं नयेत् ॥
yato yato niśhcharati manaśh chañchalam
asthiram tatas tato niyamyaitad ātmanyeva vaśhaṁ nayet
Sanskrit recitation
Practice sitting with the mind · 6.10–6.28 · Teaching
Translation
From whatever cause the restless and unsteady mind wanders away, let him restrain it from that and bring it under the control of the Self alone.
Hindi translation
यह अस्थिर और चञ्चल मन जहाँ-जहाँ विचरण करता है, वहाँ-वहाँसे हटाकर इसको एक परमात्मामें ही लगाये।
Meaning
In this verse the Lord gives the method to control the mind. Just as you drag the bull again and again to your house when it runs out, so also you will have to drag the mind to your point or centre or Lakshya again and again when it runs towards the external objects. If you give good cotton seed extract, sugar, plantains, etc., to the bull, it will not turn away but will remain in your house. Even so if you make the mind taste the eternal bliss of the Self within little by little by the practice of concentration, it will gradually abide in the Self only and will not run towards the external objects of the senses. Sound and the other objects only make the mind restless and unsteady. By knowing the defects of the objects of sensual pleasure, by understanding their illusory nature, by the cultivation of discrimination between the Real and the unreal and also dispassion, and by making the mind understand the glory and the splendour of the Self you can wean the mind entirely away from sensual objects and fix it firmly on the Self.
After Swami Sivananda
Practice sitting with the mind· 6.10–6.28→
Teachers usually read this idea across several verses together, one shared reflection covers the whole unit.
- 6.10Let the yogi constantly strive to keep the mind steady, remaining in solitude, alone, with…
- 6.11In a clean spot, having established a firm seat of his own, neither too high nor too low,…
- 6.12There, having made the mind one-pointed, with the actions of the mind and senses…
- 6.13Let him firmly hold his body, head, and neck erect and still, gazing at the tip of his…
- 6.14Serene-minded, fearless, firm in the vow of a Brahmachari, having controlled their mind,…
- 6.15Thus, always keeping the mind balanced, the yogi, with the mind controlled, attains the…
- 6.16Verily, Yoga is not possible for him who eats too much, nor for him who does not eat at…
- 6.17Yoga becomes the destroyer of pain for him who is moderate in eating and recreation (such…
- 6.18When the perfectly controlled mind rests in the Self alone, free from longing for any of…
- 6.19As a lamp placed in a windless spot does not flicker, so is the Yogi of a controlled mind,…
- 6.20When the mind, restrained by the practice of yoga, attains quietude, and when one sees the…
- 6.21When he (the Yogi) feels that infinite bliss which can be grasped by the pure intellect…
- 6.22Having obtained it, he thinks there is no other gain superior to it; established in it, he…
- 6.23Let this be known by the name of Yoga, the severance from union with pain. This Yoga…
- 6.24Abandoning unreservedly all desires born of Sankalpa (thought and imagination) and…
- 6.25Little by little, let him attain steadiness of the intellect by holding it firmly; having…
6.26From whatever cause the restless and unsteady mind wanders away, let him restrain it from…
- 6.27Supreme Bliss indeed comes to this Yogi whose mind is made peaceful, whose passion is…
- 6.28The yogi, always engaging the mind thus (in the practice of yoga), is freed from sins and…
Word-by-word→
- eva
- certainly
- etat
- this
- nayet
- should bring
- manaḥ
- the mind
- niyamya
- having restrained
- vaśham
- control
- ātmani
- on God
- asthiram
- unsteady
- chañchalam
- restless
- niśhcharati
- wanders
- tataḥ tataḥ
- from there
- yataḥ yataḥ
- whenever and wherever
Related verses
- 2.59The objects of the senses turn away from the abstinent man, leaving the longing behind;…
- 18.10The man of renunciation, pervaded by purity, intelligent, and with his doubts cut asunder,…
- 14.22The Blessed Lord said, "When light, activity, and delusion are present, he does not hate…
- 6.9He who is of the same mind towards the good-hearted, friends, enemies, the indifferent,…